[wellylug] Last nights meeting, christmas social, and next year!

[Colin Templeman]

I'll stick my thoughts into the first categories you raised, Hugh.  I'm 
still not back so I can't really interject in the nuts-n-bolts of the 
actual meetings.

on 18/11/2013 21:40 Hugh Davenport said:

> a) What is WellyLUG's intended audience?

Firstly the members form the core so it has to satisfy the members first 
and foremost otherwise boredom ensues and the group disbands.  In it's 
crudest form, don't underestimate the power of beer + curry + 
opportunity to share common interests!  Next it should exist to satisfy 
the objectives (which hopefully are aligned to what the members want 
anyway).

> b) What is the objective of WellyLUG?

To form a focal point for all things FOSS and provide a means to discuss 
and learn about them (hopefully) whilst having an enjoyable time sharing 
thoughts with like minded souls.

This will provide a nucleus to allow outside interested/curious parties 
to join in and see if FOSS is of interest to them.  Likewise a point of 
contact for those wishing to leverage FOSS in their business.  Linux is 
easily promoted as the best platform upon which to run FOSS software but 
I don't believe it should be touted as the *only* option.  Softly, 
softly, catchee monkey ;)

I see three looming opportunities that could be used to capture interest:

One is targeting died-in-the-wool Win XP users and demonstrating a 
superb, free replacement for their OS when it goes EOL early next year. 
  Aspects could include highlighting Wine (or even Virtualbox) as a 
safety net for any specific use they have that cannot be easily migrated 
onto an analogous native package.  Perhaps set dual-boot to avoid them 
feeling the rug has been pulled from under their feet?  This is how I 
set-up my elderly father's computer when showing him Ubuntu.  After 
being very apprehensive about learning something new, he took to Unity 
like a duck to water.  It helped that most of his Windows software was 
FOSS and therefore present on his new machine, but he loves the clear 
layout of Unity and the search functions Dash provides.  He especially 
loves using "Simple Scan" which he finds far easier to use that his 
windows software when scanning old photos and documents, and the other 
was Déjà Dup taking the headache out of backing up his data.  I deleted 
the Windows partition about a month into his conversion after I asked 
him how many times he's used Windows (none) :)

The second is using the NSA/GCHQ spying fiasco to promote Open Source as 
being inherently more secure due to "many eyes" on the code and the 
commensurate decrease in the likelihood of backdooring or subversion.

The third is ride on the back of Valve's intentions to break the Windows 
gaming monopoly to foster interest.  I feel this is quite a big one in 
actual fact (whether you're a fan of Steam or not) as this has oft been 
cited as the biggest block to people shifting off of Windows entirely. 
At the very least better video drivers and performance has got to be a 
good thing and busting open the DirectX monopoly has got to be good for 
smaller (more innovative) development studios.

More specific opportunities to promote Linux (from my personal 
experience) fall into one of the following categories:

* Curious - interested in tech and/or wanting to try something new 
(usually an easy win for Linux).  The Raspbery Pi has done a lot for 
Linux awareness in this category (even though it's no racehorse) because 
of the very low entry cost, the sheer versatility of the thing and the 
fact is doesn't run Windows :)
* Cash-strapped - those wanting low cost or free software (this 
incorporates schools, charities & business start-ups as well as 
impecunious individuals).  I saved a friend of mine literally hundreds 
on establishing his sole-trader business a few years back through 
donated hardware off Freecycle and software c/o GNU/linux. 
(Incidentally, every second-hand or unwanted PC I pass on through 
Freecycle gets wiped and a Linux distro installed, partly to get around 
uncertain licensing, partly through lack of drivers and partly to spread 
the idea of alternatives being available).
* Niche Use - I've got Musos interested through Ubuntu Studio, kids 
through Linux-gamers bootable dvd, and xbmc rules for anyone wanting a 
media centre/free intelligent TV.  There are also initiatives like Eldy 
for senior citizens that are suited to old hardware/Linux, although the 
elderly I've encountered are not so bewildered by technology that they 
can't use a standard distro with a few icons on the desktop.

No doubt there are more but these are the areas that I've discovered 
that are opportunities to share the FOSS love.  It's easier to think 
about how exactly to engage people in these areas once you've identified 
who they are likely to be.

-- 
Colin Templeman
On Tour in the UK

"Teach it Phenomenology, Doolittle".